


When The Sun Stops Shining

by DiaHonkers



Series: FMA Body Sharing Universe [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Angst, Fluff, God this is so self-indulgent, Secrets, Self-Indulgent, Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-18
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2020-01-16 04:04:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18513535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiaHonkers/pseuds/DiaHonkers
Summary: Side Story for "The Bond We Share"Two brothers, Weston and Braydon, come to the Rockbell household in hopes of playing with Winry, Edward, and Alphonse, ignorant of all the things they’ve been through.Set a bit after the transmutation, before Roy visits Edward





	When The Sun Stops Shining

Winry hummed to herself outside as she watered the flowers in front of the porch. Before everything had happened she had taken the warmth of the sun for granted. Now she relished in it, breathing deeply and enjoying the clean air.

“Winry! Winry!” Two boys yelled as they came over the hill. Weston and Braydon. They were the sons of the local florist. They may have been much younger than the trio, they still had played with them frequently.

“Good morning boys!” She said as she turned around, her pink floral dress swaying. “What did you two need?”

“We’re bored! Can you and Ed and Al come and play? We haven’t seen them in forever!” Braydon cut in, groaning. “Daddy said that something happened. He was going out each day a while ago. Said something, about looking for Al!”

Winry’s face scrunched up and her chest tightened as she looked at the two little boys, seven and five respectively. “Ed and Al….they’re sick!” She said, coming up with some lie off the top of her head. “They can’t come out and play right now…” Her chin trembled as she spoke.

Brayden's eyes softened in sadness. “Alright…” he said, shuffling his feet together.

“Can we see them? We could cheer them up and make them not sick!” Weston chimed in, a smile on his face.

“I can ask them.” She said, her eyebrows furrowing in guilt. She smiled sadly as she looked the two boys in the eye.

Winry walked back into the house. She peaked her head into the boy's room. Ed, presumably, was reading with a book on his lap. He had tended to stay away from alchemy now. Just the sight of a transmutation circle sent him into a panic.

“Ed…? Or Al? Sorry.” She said as the boy looked up at her.

“Ed.” He responded. “What’s up Win?” The boy closed his book and focused his attention on the girl standing in the doorway.

“I uh...Weston and Braydon are here…” she scratched the back of her head. “They wanted to play but I told them you guys were sick.” She said looking at the ground. “But they want to come see you to try and...heal you.”

Ed’s gaze fell into his lap. “They don’t know, do they?" Winry slowly nodded her head and grunted in response.

“Most parents agreed not to say anything, especially if they have young children. They don’t wanna worry their kids or bombard you with visitors who don’t know how to act around...people like you.” She glanced at the floor, avoiding Ed’s gaze.

 _"It would be good to have some company from people who don’t act weird and different around us, Brother. If you don’t want to talk, I’ll talk to them!"_ Al said. He sounded excited for the first time in forever. Ed couldn’t just ignore that.

“Let them in.. can you just...cover my chest...” Ed said, gesturing to his shoulder. “Al wants to talk to them.”

Winry nodded and slowly brought the blanket up to his shoulder as not to disturb the healing nerve endings. She walked to the front door and waved for the two boys sitting on the steps to come in.

The boys ran around the house looking for Ed and Al. Winry giggled as she heard Granny yell at the boys to get out of the automail shop.

“The-he’s in here.” She said, opening the door to the room. There, on the bed sat the crippled boy. He smiled brightly. The sight brought an overwhelming feeling of hurt. Even Al’s smile had been brought over to Edwards body.

“Ed! Ed! How are you!” The boys said, running to him in greetings.

Al laughed. “It’s nice to see you guys!” His left shoulder moved slightly as he went to rub the top of their heads, only to stop himself at the reminder that there was no longer an arm there. “How’s school been?”

Braydon groaned and flopped his head onto the bed. Alphonse let out a hiss of pain and Winry went to go pluck the little boy off the bed. Al waved her away and smiled at the boy. “It’s been terrible! Teacher gives us such hard work! It’s stupid! Could you show me?” He said, looking up from the bed.

“Ah- maybe another day. Let’s not overwhelm the- him. He’s not feeling well.” Winry interjected. Al gazed at the ground.

“Yeah...I don’t feel well…” he mumbled.

 _"Al? Are you alright?"_ Ed inquired softly.

“I’m fine brother.” He said under his breath, quiet enough for the two kids not to notice. His lips quivered and he turned his gaze back to the unknowing boys. Winry’s eyes darted towards the boys lips anxiously and then back at the kids who seamlessly continued to chat with one another.

Every time the boys had a visitor, Winry became filled with worry, especially when the boys talked to each other. What if they found out about Ed and Al? What if they told the town? The military would be sent to them and they would be taken away and experimented on.

Winry shook her head, ridding her mind of the thought out of her mind. ‘ _They would be ok. They know what they’re doing. We can trust our neighbors.’_

“Why don’t you feel well? Weston piped up. Al stilled, resisting the urge to put _his_ hand on _his_ shoulder that now had an empty gap where a limb should have been.

“Well uh… stuff happened” he chuckled. And scratched the back of his neck. The blanket covering his chest slipped a bit. _Al’s_ soft eyes widened in horror. Winry quickly pushed the boy on the bed out of the way and tucked the blanket back to where it had been.

“What was that for!? Why were you scared?” Braydon said, pouring his eyes towards Al. “You aren't telling us something!” he pouted.

“He gets... cold very easy. It’s not safe for him to have the blanket off!” Winry shouted. Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment at the sudden outburst she had. Al looked over to Winry and then to the boys and nodded in agreement.

“Hmph!” Braydon groaned and turned his back, crossing his arms. “Whatever. Ed just doesn’t want us here. Where’s Al? I’ll make _him_ feel better?” He said storming out of the room in search for the younger boy.

Al’s breath halted and he started to shake. He wanted to scream and cry and tell the boy that he was here. That it was him. That _he was here._  Hot tears started to drip down his face, to Winry's horror.

“Al...Al, it’s alright. It’s alright..” she said crouching down and rubbing his remaining leg. She whispered comforting words to him. Weston stood behind the two awkwardly. Rubbing his arm in discomfort.

 _"Just tell them about my-our limbs..and the bullshit excuse of you...being missing…’"_  Ed said, trailing off in guilt at the end of his sentences.

“Winry..get Braydon back in here... we’ll just tell them.” Al said, looking to the girl.

“The truth?!? Like? The-“

“No. The _truth._ What everybody else thinks.” Al whispered, cutting her off.

“Does your brother want them to know?”

He nodded. “He told me to.”

“Weston. Get your brother. We need to talk.” Winry said, standing up and turning to the young boy. He nodded and turned to the door.

“Is everything alright..?” He asked before he stepped out the door.

Winry managed to bring a small smile to her face. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

The little boy walked out of the room. The two brothers were heard outside bickering. The elder pleaded with his younger brother to come back in the room.

“They sound like you two.” Winry said, giving a pitiful laugh as she looked out the door and at the two boys. “I never thought I would miss watching you two fight.” Winry stared down at her fidgeting fingers and bit her lip. “Al?” She slowly asked as she brought her attention back to the quivering boy on the bed.

“Winry...” Al started.  “It just..it hurts. Everything hurts. It hurts me to see people I’ve grown up with and known my whole life...they’re upset. They’re suffering because they think I’ve been kidnapped or-or something. I just..I just want to scream and cry! I want them to know that I’m still here! That I’m Alpho-“ He continued yelling as he was cut off by the two little boys reentering the room. The younger still had his arms crossed and his cheeks were puffed in defiance. Weston gave an apologetic smile to the two of them.

“Do you want to or…”

“Can...you please do it..” Al mumbled, squeezing Winry’s hand and biting _his_ lip, turning his attention to the wooden floor.

Winry swallowed. “Well…” she started, scratching at her arm nervously. “Uh… where do I start…” she mumbled to herself. “There..well someone broke into Ed and Al’s house…”

The two boys eyes turned frightened. They looked at the boy on the bed. He stared silently towards the ground, trying to ignore everything the best he could.

“And Al...we can’t find him… in the robbery... " She took a shaky breath. "He must have been taken." Winry glanced back at Al, who’s breathing quickened.

“We can go in the other room if you want.” She whispered, moving her head to see Al’s glossy eyes.

“It’s fine.” He laughed. “I've got to face reality anyways.” The boy looked up. _His_ eyes brimming with tears.

Winry’s eyebrows furrowed as she took a deep breath and continued. “That’s why your daddy was out...he was looking for him.” Winry gripped the sheets of the bed as she tried to maintain her composure. “Ed...he lost his arm and his leg…Trying to stop them from taking Al...” she said as she turned to the boy behind her.

Al nodded and Winry took a deep breath. She slowly removed the blanket covering his body. He shook as the cold air hit his stumps, aggravating them.

He sat there with no shirt on, the bandages wrapping around his chest, a bump where gauze was placed to protect the bind that made Ed and Al one.

The two boys stood there, their mouths gaping and young eyes wide and curious. Weston stared into Al’s broken and sad eyes, the memories of pain running through his mind.

“I’m sorry.” Braydon mumbles under his breath. His hands quivered as his little hands gripped his pants. “I’m sorry.” He repeated.

“Is there...anything we can do to help?” Weston said, bringing his arms up as he approached Al.

Al sat there, wide-eyed and staring at the bedsheets where a leg should have been.

 _"Al. Hey, Al. It’s ok. Let me take over. Deep breaths."_ Edward said frantically, trying to comfort his baby brother who had begun to shake and his eyes became a dam threatening to overflow.

Al closed _his_ eyes and took a deep breath and let himself be sucked into the passenger's seat, giving control to his brother. Each time the brothers changed control, it looked like they had become a different person. The way they held themselves was the exact opposite of each other, making it a bit easier for someone in on their secret to tell who was who.

“It’s ok.” Ed said adjusting himself to the body, bringing his wide toothy smile on his face. “I’ll be ok. I’ll fix everything.” Ed ushered the two boys over to the other side of his bed where his remaining arm was.

He stuck his hand on the elder kids head first and ruffled his hair. “You’re a great older brother, you know that?” He said, looking into his eyes. He was sincere and honest with the boy. “You’re such a better brother than I am. Make sure you protect him. Don’t drag him into anything stupid.”

The boy nodded as Ed squeezed his shoulder. “Do everything you can to protect him.” His eyes deepened as he said it almost as a warning.

“Yes.” he said as he glanced softly over to his younger brother who stared back at him. His mouth quirked up and he lifted his head back towards Ed. “I’ll do that.”

Ed moved his hand over to the younger and ruffled his hair as well. “Make sure he doesn’t drag you into anything stupid. Make sure to call him out. You both need to look after each other.”

The boy nodded and smiled.

“Winry, can you cover me again? It’s kinda cold” Ed said turning to Winry.

She had a wide smile on her face. “Sure.” She moved to the blanket and put it back up to his chin. He mumbled a small thank you as she tucked it in.

Even with everything that those brothers had been through, Winry was relieved at the fact that they had not lost themselves. That the boys she knows and loves are still in there somewhere. That they were only shrouded by the pain and sadness that had come to them all too quickly.

Winry closed her eyes, picturing their future. Ed and Al standing tall, smiling with their usual wide smiles. She ran out of the house and caught up to the boys. They sat under a tree laughing and talking as they picnicked and ate sandwiches like they had so many times before.

She hoped that that day would come soon. Where the boys were back to normal.

**Author's Note:**

> So I know this isn't really the place to say it, but I am truly, genuinely sorry that I have not updated the main fic. I have been having writer's block and figured that I should upload this side story I wrote a bit ago to at least give my readers some content from this universe. I hope that I'm able to produce a new chapter for the main fic soon. Please enjoy this in the meantime.
> 
> Feedback, comments, and kudos are greatly appreciated!!!


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